Japan's lower house of parliament has passed a bill encouraging teachers to instil patriotism and respect for tradition in their students. The bill, which will now go to the upper house, would change the country's education law for the first time since it was enacted in 1947. Opponents fear the move could help fan a resurgence of nationalism. They are wary because Japan's military leaders used patriotism to justify the expansionism which led to World War II. The bill calls on teachers to instil thinking among students "respecting tradition and culture and loving the nation and homeland." Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has strongly backed the bill. In a weekly e-mail he said Japan's education system "has not sufficiently addressed ideas such as moral values, ethics and self-discipline". ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

At least nine people were feared dead, and the number could rise, after a tornado ripped through a trailer home community in North Carolina's Columbus County on Thursday morning, officials said as the search for more victims continued. Sheriff Chris Batten said the number of confirmed dead was six, while another official cited reports of three more deaths as well. “We’ve stepped across bodies to get (to) debris and search for other bodies here this morning,” said Columbus County Commissioner Sammie Jacobs. Jacobs said Batten told him there were also “quite a few people with various injuries here and there who have been taken to various hospitals.” One local hospital reported that four children were in critical condition, one was stable and two adults were also injured....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15747102/

A 56-year-old man in the eastern Indian state of Orissa has spent 26 years in chains because his family and doctors say he is mad and a danger to others. Ananta Charana Dash's shackles limit him to six-inch steps. "My repeated request to be freed have yielded no results. I have learnt to reconcile and adjust to my present state of life," he told the BBC. Mr Dash's family, who cannot afford medical help, say chaining him was the only way to stop him attacking people. Local police say they have no knowledge of the case. No money Ananta Charana Dash, a father of three, lives in the village of Hanumantapala in Kendrapada district, about 120km (75 miles) east of the state capital, Bhubaneswar. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6154340.stm

More than 700 passengers and crew members aboard a trans-Atlantic cruise have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms, cruise line officials said.The outbreak, believed to be norovirus, struck people aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines' Liberty, one of the world's largest cruise ships, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Miami-based company.The ship left Rome on Nov. 3 with about 2,800 paying passengers and was due to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday."Within 24 hours of sailing, they had a lot of people sick. It has tapered off considerably over the past couple days," said David Forney, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229903,00.html

A US marine has received an 18-month prison sentence for his part in killing an unarmed man in Iraq. Pte John Jodka is one of eight servicemen implicated in the attack seven months ago in Hamdania, in which a 52-year-old man died. The judge said he would have sentenced Jodka to five years, but he was bound by a "very fortuitous" pre-trial deal. Jodka, who apologised to the victim's family, is expected to give evidence against the other defendants. As part of a plea bargain, Jodka pleaded guilty in October to charges of assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice, while prosecutors dropped other charges including murder and kidnapping. The BBC's David Willis, in California, says other more senior officers among the defendants are expected to face kidnapping and murder charges. They could face the death penalty if convicted in trials that are likely to drag on towards the end of 2007, our correspondent says....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6152636.stm

A man was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after officials say they found him carrying more than $78,000 in cash and a laptop computer containing information about nuclear materials and cyanide. Sisayehiticha Dinssa, an unemployed U.S. citizen, was arrested Tuesday after a dog caught the scent of narcotics on cash he was carrying, according to an affidavit filed in court. When agents asked him if he had any cash to declare, he said he had $18,000, authorities said. But when agents checked his luggage, they found an additional $59,000. When they scrolled through his laptop, they said they found the mysterious files. At a court hearing Wednesday, Dinssa was ordered held in custody until at least until Monday at the request of prosecutors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonid Feller argued Dinssa was a potential risk to the community and federal agents want to get a warrant to search his computer more thoroughly, The ...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-16-airport-nuclear_x.htm?csp=34